After both having extra time off, the Centennial Eagles and the Tradition Prep Pirates will shake off the rust and duke it out at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Centennial's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Tradition Prep's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
While Centennial's victory against Port St. Lucie wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Centennial had just enough and edged out Port St. Lucie 3-1. The win continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Jaguars: they've now won six in a row.
Yariel Rodriguez looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Centennial's victory was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Peyton Salerno, who scored a run while going 1-for-4. Darren Ochoa was another, scoring a run while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Meanwhile, while Tradition Prep put up plenty of runs last Thursday, the same can't be said for Port St. Lucie. Tradition Prep put the hurt on Port St. Lucie with a sharp 13-0 win. That looming 13-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Pirates yet this season.
Pablo Almonte made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also allowed no hits, which is notable because Tradition Prep is undefeated when he allows at most one hit, but 1-5 otherwise. Almonte was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Tradition Prep got a big performance out of Aliet Garcia, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Garcia has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Sebastian Garcia, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Tradition Prep always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Centennial's victory bumped their record up to 9-6. As for Tradition Prep, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-5.
Centennial took their victory against Tradition Prep in their previous meeting back in February by a conclusive 13-1. Does Centennial have another victory up their sleeve, or will Tradition Prep turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
